Canterbury Kings

Team Country: New Zealand

Team City: Rangiora, Canterbury, New Zealand

Team Administrator: Canterbury Cricket Association

Founded (Year): 1864

Home Ground: Hagley Oval

Coach: Peter Fulton

Captain: Cole McConchie

Forms of Cricket: First-Class Limited Overs Twenty20

Canterbury Kings: competitions

Canterbury Kings: First-Class Cricket Competitions

Logo Tournament Wins Years Plunket Shield 19 1922–23, 1930–31, 1934–35, 1945–46, 1948–49, 1951–52, 1955–56, 1959–60, 1964–65, 1975–76, 1983–84, 1993–94, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2016–17, 2020–21

Canterbury Kings: Limited Overs Cricket Competitions

Logo Tournament Wins Years Ford Trophy 15 1971–72, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1985–86, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2005–06, 2016–17, 2020–21

Canterbury Kings: Twenty20 Cricket Competitions

Logo Tournament Wins Years Super Smash 1 2005–06

Canterbury Kings: popular cricket club

The Canterbury Cricket Team was formed in 1864 in the Canterbury region. The club became one and four teams, which was able to take part in the debut season of the domestic first-class cricket championship – Plunket Shield in 1906. Since that time, the Canterbury was named the best at this tournament for the 19th time! Also, the club has 15 victories in one-day matches of the Ford Trophy championship, and the team won the youngest championship in New Zealand – Super Smash once. The main home for Canterbury players is in the Hagley Oval, which can accommodate 8,000 people. In addition, the team also has a 2nd playground – Rangiora Recreation Ground.

Canterbury Kings – early years of history

Cricket in Canterbury was born thanks to foreigners. In 1850, colonists from England brought this popular game with them. Initially, residents formed small groups and competed among themselves. The 1st real cricket team, the Canterbury Kings, appears in the region 14 years later.

The club played its debut match in 1864. As the game went away, the Canterbury traveled to Dunedin to host an amateur match against another new cricket team, Otago. Three years later, the team has its own home stadium – Hagley Ovalin in 1867. The first recorded match was played in the same year. Otago came to visit the players from Canterbury this time.

In 1877, the Canterbury Cricket Association was founded. It is one of the six major cricket sports organizations in the country. The Canterbury region is the largest geographic location in New Zealand. The capital of the district is the city of Christchurch.

Although cricket occupied an important place in New Zealand until the 1890s, no government organization could run this sport in the country. Finally, the New Zealand Cricket Council was formed in Christchurch in 1894. The Council created the 1st domestic first-class championship – Plunket Shield 12 year later. Initially, it included four main commands:

1. the Auckland Aces;
2. the Wellington Firebirds;
3. the Canterbury Kings;
4. the Otago Volts.

The Canterbury played their first match in the new tournament at a home stadium in 1907. The rival was the Oakland Cricket Club. Starting with the 1921 season, the Plunket Shield had a round system. The Canterbury players won their 1st league title in 1923, marking the beginning of a time of great wins.

The team became the best in the country for the second time in 1931. By the way, the club sometimes played its home matches at the Lancaster Park sports stadium at this time. The team chalked up another winning season in 1935.

Then the Canterbury Kings did not have championship titles until 1946. It was due to the deterioration in the quality of the game and the period of the Second World War (1941-1945). It turned out to improve the situation in the period 1946-1965. During this time, the team has replenished its winning piggy bank with 6 more titles.

Canterbury Kings – a member of the Ford Trophy and Super Smash

A new professional cricket championship started in New Zealand – the New Zealand Motor Corporation Knock-Out (now called the Ford Trophy) in 1971. Unlike the 1st tournament, where the matches lasted for several days, the games were one-day with a limited number of overs.

The first Ford Trophy champion was the Canterbury Kings cricket club. The next time the team won the tournament for 3 consecutive years – from 1976 to 1978. In addition, the team became the absolute champion of the country in 1976, winning the Plunket Shield.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the club had 14 championship titles in the first-class championship (Plunket Shield) and 12 victories in the Ford Trophy. Since 2004, the team has acquired another home site – the Rangiora Recreation Ground stadium. In 2005, another cricket championship appeared in New Zealand – the NZ Twenty20 Competition (now Super Smash). The Canterbury club became its 1st winner in 2006. Unfortunately, this was the first and last victory for the team in this tournament.

For 2021, the number of Canterbury Kings titles in all domestic competitions in the country is:

• the Plunket Shield (19) – most recently in 2017;
• the Ford Trophy (15) – last in 2021;
• the Super Smash (1) – in 2006.

Currently, some of the most successful players of the team are: Chad Bowes, Henry Nicholls, Sean Davey, Tom Latham and Matt Henry.